Cathedral of Christ the King (Atlanta) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Cathedral of Christ the King |
|
|---|---|
The cathedral in 2025
|
|
| 33°49′41″N 84°23′13″W / 33.82806°N 84.38694°W | |
| Location | 2699 Peachtree Road Atlanta, Georgia |
| Country | United States |
| Denomination | Catholic |
| Tradition | Roman Rite |
| Website | Cathedral of Christ the King |
| History | |
| Former name(s) | Christ the King Church (1936–1937) Co-Cathedral of Christ the King (1937–1956) |
| Status | Cathedral |
| Founded | June 15, 1936 |
| Dedication | Christ the King |
| Dedicated | January 18, 1939 |
| Architecture | |
| Architect(s) | Henry D. Dagit Jr. |
| Style | French Gothic |
| Groundbreaking | October 31, 1937 |
| Completed | December 1938 |
| Specifications | |
| Capacity | 700 |
| Administration | |
| Archdiocese | Atlanta |
The Cathedral of Christ the King is a large Roman Catholic church located in the Buckhead area of Atlanta, Georgia, in the United States. It is the main church, called a cathedral, for the Archdiocese of Atlanta. This means it's where the archbishop, a high-ranking church leader, has his official seat.
The church was started in 1936 by Bishop Gerald O'Hara. He saw that many people were moving to the northern suburbs of Atlanta. He bought land on Peachtree Road in Buckhead. The first temporary church was in a building that used to be a mansion. In 1937, Atlanta became a co-cathedral city, meaning it shared the title with Savannah. Christ the King was chosen as this co-cathedral.
Building a new church started in 1937 and finished in 1938. It was officially opened in January 1939. In 1956, the Diocese of Atlanta was created, and Christ the King became its only cathedral. Later, in 1962, the diocese became an archdiocese, making Christ the King the main church for the archbishop.
The cathedral was designed in the French Gothic style by architect Henry D. Dagit Jr. It uses strong materials like Indiana limestone, granite, and marble. The inside of the church can hold about 700 people. It has 65 beautiful stained glass windows made by Willet Studios. As of 2012, about 5,200 families were members of the church. There is also a school, Christ the King School, connected to the church. In 2003, it had over 500 students from kindergarten to 8th grade.
Contents
History of the Cathedral
How the Church Began
In January 1936, Gerald O'Hara became the bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Savannah. He quickly saw how important Atlanta was to the diocese. He wanted to create a new church parish just north of the city. Even during the Great Depression in the 1930s, the Atlanta area kept growing. The Buckhead area, just north of Atlanta, was changing from a quiet countryside to a busy suburb.
In 1936, Bishop O'Hara bought a 4-acre property in Buckhead for the new church. This land had been owned by a group called the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan. They had used a large mansion on the property as their main office. By 1936, the property was taken by the bank, and the diocese bought it from an insurance company. The cost was $35,000.
Early Days of Christ the King
The new church parish officially started on June 15, 1936. It was named Christ the King Church. This was the fifth Catholic parish in the Atlanta area. The mansion on the property was turned into a rectory, which is where the priests live. A temporary altar was set up on the front porch.
The very first Mass was held two months later, on August 15. Joseph Moylan was the church's first pastor. Soon, a small chapel was built inside the rectory that could hold up to 220 people. When it first opened, the church had about 400 adults and 109 children as members. Many early members, like businessman J. J. Haverty, had come from other churches in downtown Atlanta.
Later that year, groups of church members started planning for a new church building and a parochial school. These projects were expected to cost $300,000. Most of this money was raised through donations, including a large gift of $50,000 from J. J. Haverty.
Becoming a Co-Cathedral
Bishop O'Hara wanted Atlanta to be more important to the diocese. He asked the Holy See (the Pope's office) to change the Diocese of Savannah to the Diocese of Savannah-Atlanta. This would mean having a co-cathedral in Atlanta. In 1937, the Holy See agreed. Christ the King was chosen to be the co-cathedral, sharing the title with the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Savannah. This meant the bishop would live in both cities at different times. Important Holy Week ceremonies would also switch between the two cathedrals each year.
Building the Co-Cathedral
With most of the money raised, the church chose the company Henry D. Dagit and Sons to design the new building. Henry D. Dagit Jr. was the main architect. This company was from Philadelphia and had designed many churches before. They decided the new church would look similar to a chapel they had built at Rosemont College. They even used many of the same building materials and workers.
Griffin Construction Company built the church. This was one of the oldest construction companies in Georgia. The beautiful stained glass windows were made by Henry Lee Willet of Willet Studios in Philadelphia. However, because of money issues and World War II, the last stained-glass window was not put in until 1952.
On October 31, 1937, a special ceremony was held to lay the cornerstone for the co-cathedral. Bishop O'Hara blessed it. The next month, on November 4, O'Hara led the first Mass at the construction site, with about 400 people attending.
The Dedication Ceremony
Construction of the church continued through 1938 and finished in December. The official opening, called the dedication, was planned for January 1939. However, the first service held in the new building was actually a funeral on December 12, 1938, for one of the church's founding members.
The dedication ceremony happened on January 18, 1939. Many important church leaders were invited, including 21 archbishops and 110 bishops from across the United States. Bishop O'Hara and Dennis Joseph Dougherty, a cardinal from Philadelphia, led the dedication. When Cardinal Dougherty arrived by train, about 3,000 people greeted him. This crowd included Atlanta Mayor William B. Hartsfield. Other important guests at the dedication included Georgia Governor Eurith D. Rivers. In 1939, a magazine called Architectural Record said it was the most beautiful building in Atlanta.
Later Years of the Cathedral
After World War II, the Buckhead area grew a lot. In 1952, Buckhead became part of Atlanta. Because of this growth, the Holy See divided the Diocese of Savannah-Atlanta into two separate dioceses in 1956. Christ the King became the only cathedral for the new Diocese of Atlanta.
In the early 1960s, the cathedral helped another local church, Our Lady of Lourdes, by giving a large donation for its new building. In 1962, the Diocese of Atlanta became an archdiocese. Since then, Christ the King has been the place where all new archbishops are officially welcomed. In 1963, William Calhoun became the first African American priest ordained at the church for the archdiocese. In November 1967, a special joint service was held at the cathedral with both Catholic and Lutheran church members. This was part of a new effort for different Christian groups to work together.
In 1994, the church started a practice called perpetual adoration. This means people pray before the Eucharist at all hours. By the mid-2000s, the cathedral had about 5,300 families as members. In 2012, the church reported about 5,200 families, while the entire archdiocese had about 1 million members. Around 2016, the cathedral's stained-glass windows were cleaned and repaired. In September 2018, some church members protested about past issues within the Catholic Church.
Design of the Cathedral
Where It Is Located
The Cathedral of Christ the King is at 2699 Peachtree Road. It is on the northeast corner where Peachtree Road and Peachtree Way meet. It is also close to two other large churches on Peachtree Road: the Episcopal Cathedral of Saint Philip and Second-Ponce de Leon Baptist Church.
Outside Look
The cathedral's overall architectural style is French Gothic. This style is similar to cathedrals built in the 1200s. However, it does not have some of the fancy details often seen in Gothic churches, like long transepts (the arms of a cross-shaped church) or flying buttresses (supports on the outside walls). The church's design is very clean and simple.
The main materials used to build the church were granite, Indiana Limestone, and marble. The granite and marble came from quarries in Georgia, with some granite from Stone Mountain. The roof is made of slate from Vermont. Some special Italian marble came from Florence.
Inside Look
The inside of the church has a large, vaulted main area called a sanctuary. It was designed to hold about 700 people. The main altar is made from a solid block of marble brought from Siena, Italy. Behind the altar is a marble sculpture showing the crucifixion of Jesus, surrounded by shiny gold mosaics.
The building has 65 stained glass windows. There are 22 large ones and 43 smaller ones. Together, these windows show 201 stories from the Bible. An architect named Robert Michael Craig said in a 2012 book that the windows, which are mostly blue and ruby red, look like the beautiful windows in old French Gothic cathedrals like Chartres Cathedral. Because it used to be a co-cathedral, the windows even show pictures of both Christ the King and the Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist in Savannah.
Christ the King School
In 1937, the groups planning the new church and school decided to build the school first. On April 18, the groundbreaking ceremony for the new primary school building took place on the church grounds. Like the cathedral, the school was designed by Dagit and has the same architectural style.
While the school was being built, it operated temporarily out of the rectory. The school was led by a group of nuns called the Grey Nuns of the Sacred Heart. Construction of the school only took about six months. The new building was blessed by Bishop O'Hara on October 31, and classes moved there the next month. In November, church services also moved from the mansion to the school's auditorium.
Over the next few years, the school grew and added more grades, including some high school courses. However, high school classes were stopped in 1958 after St. Pius X Catholic High School was created. In 1954, an addition was built onto the school. That same year, a new convent (a home for the nuns) was built for the Grey Nuns. The Grey Nuns continued to run the school until the 1990s. Around 2003, the school had a big renovation project. At that time, it had about 540 students and served grades from kindergarten to 8th grade.
See also
In Spanish: Catedral de Cristo Rey (Atlanta) para niños
- List of Catholic cathedrals in the United States
- List of Roman Catholic churches in the Archdiocese of Atlanta
